Brazil Food and Drink Guide: What to Eat and Sip

A taste of Brazil

Brazilian food is regional, generous, and built around shared tables. Whether you land in Rio, Salvador, or Sao Paulo, eating well is easy and rarely expensive.

Signature dishes

• Feijoada — a black bean and pork stew, traditionally eaten on Wednesdays and Saturdays, served with rice, collard greens, orange slices, and farofa (toasted cassava flour).
• Moqueca — a coconut-milk fish stew from Bahia (moqueca baiana) or Espirito Santo (moqueca capixaba), simmered with dende oil, peppers, and coriander.
• Picanha — the prized rump cap, the star of any churrasco (barbecue), often sold by weight at rodizio steakhouses.
• Acaraje — black-eyed-pea fritters fried in dende oil and stuffed with shrimp and vatapa, a Bahian street classic.

Street food and snacks

• Coxinha — teardrop-shaped fried dough filled with shredded chicken.
• Pao de queijo — chewy cheese bread, perfect with morning coffee.
• Pastel — crispy fried pastry pockets sold at feiras (street markets) for around R$8 to R$12.
• Tapioca — a cassava crepe filled sweet or savory, big in the Northeast.

Drinks

• Caipirinha — the national cocktail: cachaca, lime, sugar, and ice.
• Guarana — a sweet soda made from an Amazonian berry.
• Cafezinho — a small, strong, sweet coffee offered everywhere as hospitality.
• Agua de coco — fresh coconut water, sold chilled on beaches.
• Acai — frozen Amazonian berry pulp served in a bowl with granola and banana (savory in the North).

Dining tips and etiquette

• Lunch is the main meal; many restaurants offer prato feito (a set plate) or comida por quilo, where you pay by the weight of your plate.
• A 10% service charge is usually added to the bill; tipping beyond that is optional.
• Brazilians eat late; dinner often starts after 8pm.
• Use cutlery for almost everything, including pizza and fruit.
• Tap water is best avoided; stick to bottled or filtered water.

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